My Doxa Story - Becoming a Doxa Collector This is my Doxa Story. I’ve always been a dive guy. I started with a massive Citizen then came the straps, then the number of watches I bought and sold to learn what I liked. I always looked for the next best thing. Moving around like a animal looking for my next meal. The Tudor Black Bay was a great watch to own. Mine was before they offered an Inhouse movement. Sold that for a Seamaster 300 Master CoAxial. I have to list the whole name because Omega likes to call a number of different watches ‘Seamaster 300s’. Then came the Rolex GMT and the sub. Through my collecting I always looked at what’s next. I’d sell my current watches to fund the next one. My collection was never more than two to three watches at a time. To be honest with myself I can not sit still. The more I read about horology the more interested I became in buying rare vintage pieces or having to own a Speedy. Offer me a rare sub and I still would have went for the Speedy instead after reading all the rich history of the Apollo missions. My fiance bought me a vintage Speedy and I could not be happier. I was fascinated with the watch that went to the moon. Now that I own one, I love it as much as I thought I would. It’s a great watch and since it was gift I can never sell it. I can not be tempted to sell it to fund another obsession. Since the Speedy was the watch that I always chased now I was open to try new things like the Rolexes I mentioned and a Breitling Navitimer, IWC Pilot and a high end Nomos. Finally came the night where I was poking around on Ebay looking at watch listings. Doxa was always a brand I knew of but never one I really looked into buying. I’ve been on the site but the numbers were confusing for the models. There on Ebay was a 1500t near mint. I bought the 1500t and was really impressed with the watch. So impressed I decided I wanted something closer to the vintage models. A black lung came up for sale so I jumped on it and sold my 1500t. Then of course the Poseidons started to ship and one was listed on the forum. Horological-psychologist WUS - reached out to me to tell me a watch was for sale and I should check it out. I reached out to the seller to buy it. Explaining to my fiance that I sent a random man I met on the internet who lives in Hong Kong and goes by the name Top Hot Dog, a $550 deposit for a watch he doesn't even own was a bit strange. She was completely fine with it but when I was explaining it I had to question my own actions. The watch came shortly after. Enjoying the Poseidon for as little time as I’ve had it, my eyes have started to wonder. If you have tried to sell a Doxa with in the past month or two there is a good change I reached out to you. I decided to buy a 1200t Pro from Doxa this morning. With the 1200t on backorder I now need to calm myself and wait for the watch to come in. Doxa’s are not the most expensive watches out there but nonetheless they are not cheap by any standard. That Sub C I moved cost a pretty penny but Doxa’s hold their value well because Doxa fans are crazy about this brand. Doxa’s are great value for the what they cost and you are buying quality. I’m sure I’ll end up with another Doxa just hopefully not too soon. Right now I’m obsessed with the brand. I’ve been obsessed with brands before but with Doxa it’s different. With Doxa I want that adventure people associate with the brand. When sitting on a beach or using the bezel as a backup on a dive it’s about the adventure not the watch. The old ads with a man in a wetsuit and a Doxa around his wrist is one of the reasons I pulled the trigger in the first place. It’s about the history of the brand. It does not matter what has changed through the years, what matters is the story you will tell about something you did. That watch is supposed to be there with you. Not a dive watch meant to be worn to a meeting with a client but a true dive watch meant to be taken to depths no human should ever go. Doxa was the reason I asked a client to wait a second while we were walking through Times Square so I could buy a Clive Cussler Novel from a pop up Stand book stand on the side of the street. Ironically people buy Doxa’s because of the character in some of Cussler’s books I was the opposite. For me all this comes down to the next step. I’ve been looking for a watch like the ones Doxa makes. I like my Poseidon more than most of my other watches. It’s far from perfect but it’s mine and I want it to be the watch that will be there when I go on my first dive or when I’m swimming the shores in the summer. I’d like to see myself as the man in that 60’s ad with a Doxa on the wrist. Like that Vintage Speedy it’s about the history behind the watch and how it makes you feel when wearing one.
I am a fan myself and love that this brand was among if not the first to use colored dials to theoretically compensate for deep water color loss.
nice, is that an "oyster" type of case? and what would you call a case shape like that? I have a Longines in similar case style
Dear Hands90, congrats on becoming a Doxa afficionado. They are great watches and - before being made famous by Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt - were already considered high quality dive watches in the early days. They were the first to use the orange dial (better to view in the deep, as they thought at the time) and for that reason were chosen by the Swiss military for their frogman unit. And yes, the Swiss army did have a commando divers unit for a while in the 1970-ies, to defend their borders which are often lakes and rivers. They were given a Doxa sub 300T with their army number as identification engraved on the back as well as the Swiss Cross emblem and the initials EMD, for Eidgenossisches Militär Departement (Federal Army Department). Not well known outside of Switzerland, but a nice history. The other famous person of course was Jacques Cousteau, who licensed the Doxa sub brand for his US Divers business and added the Dive tank logo which you see on the vintage US Doxa subs. One of the most knowledgeable people on Doxa subs is Peter McClean Millar, who wrote a book on the subject. Here is a picture of a Swiss army diver wearing his Doxa and close up pictures of a military issue Doxa. They were real tool watches and hands were relumed when necessary to ensure clear visibilty in the dark.
Welcome to the world of doxa collecting my friend. Wait until you start getting into the older and rarer 300 no-T thin cased Doxas. They were made for a single year (1967) and just a completely different look and feel. Bonus points if you can source an original ratcheting bracelet.
Every Doxa wearer has to attend a function or two. Vintage 9kt gold This is what I would call minty. ( don't know much about it but styling puts it to 60s 70s )